Family addition
by Rlybro
Summary: Rafael Santiago Lightwood-Bane, an orphan, alone in the streets of Buenos Aires. Until a shadowhunter found him and took him under his care. The boy, a shadowhunter with two fathers and a warlock brother, will eventually have a special bond with his beloved brother. *I'm pretty crap at summaries, but I promise it's a quick and fun read.* Plz review ;)
1. First encounter

**A/N: Hey! This fic is an idea that I had about how Rafael became a part of the Lightwood-Bane family. I used some Spanish in the story but since that I don't speak Spanish, I used google translate :P As you can guess it's probably terrible, so please ignore the mistakes if it's absolute bullshit. Anyway, please review and** **ENJOY!**

 **I apologize for the grammar and spelling mistakes.**

 ***Disclamer* I do not own any of these characters :(**

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Alec's POV

Alec was exhausted, he had been dealing with the vampire attacks all day, but now he can finally relax. Alec walked down the streets on his way to the Buenos Aires institute. It was quite busy, so Alec had decided to glamour himself before he headed back to the institute. Alec liked Buenos Aires, he has been here with Magnus before when they were traveling around the world. Alec has some pretty fun memories of this place.

Alec was walking past an alley when he felt that someone was staring at him. He turned around and found himself looking down at a little boy. The boy was not older than 5, had brown skin, black curly hair, black eyes and was seriously underweighted. The boy looked him in the eyes, and since that Alec was glamoured, it meant that the boy had the sight.

 _The boy can't be a vampire,_ Alec thought. _It is still light outside._ _The boy can't be a werewolf either, he would've had stayed with his pack. The boy doesn't look like a warlock either, I can't see any demon marks on the boy. The boy can't be a shadowhunter, right?_

 _Maybe he's just one of those gifted mundanes._ Alec thought. Alec walked towards the boy and crouched in front of him. The boy was staring at his runes with a puzzled look on his face as if he was trying to remember something. Alec reached out for the boy but the boy flinched and pressed himself against the alley wall, the puzzled look was replaced by a look of terror.

"Don't be afraid," Alec said. "My name is Alec. What's yours?" The boy frowned, the fear remained in his eyes. Alec remembered that he was in Buenos Aires and that the boy probably didn't speak English. Alec tried to remember how to speak Spanish, Magnus had once taught him some of the basics.

"No… tengas… miedo," Alec said to the boy. _Damn_. Alec thought. _I really need to improve my Spanish._ "Me llamo Alec. ¿Cómo... te... llamas?"

The boy seemed to understand what he said. He opened his mouth to speak, but then the puzzled look returned on his face.

 _Has he forgotten his name?_ Alec thought.

"¿Lo… recuerdas..?" (Do you remember it?) Alec asked. The boy shook his head.

The sun was setting now, and the alley that they were in was getting pretty dark. Alec took out his witchlight. The boy stared at it curiously. An idea formed in Alec's head and he held the witchlight out to the boy. The boy hesitated for a second, but he took the witchlight. The witchlight glowed bright white when the boy held it. _So he is a shadowhunter!_ Alec thought. The boy must have escaped after Sebastian attacked the Buenos Aires institute. _I have to bring him to the institute_. Alec thought. _He has to be treated by a silent brother at once._

"Voy a... ayudarte." (I'm going to help you.) Alec said. "Necesito… que vengas... conmigo." (I need you to come with me.)

Slowly Alec reached out to the boy. The boy flinched when Alec touched him, but he did not move away.

"Voy a recoger." (I'm going to pick you up) Alec said. The boy nodded softly. Alec picked the boy up and the boy clutched his shirt tightly as Alec carried him to the institute.

When Alec walked through the institute door with the little boy in his arms, he was greeted by Sofia. Sofia Neijzen is the current head of the Buenos Aires institute, she's originally from the Madrid institute but took over the Buenos Aires institute after the dark war. When Sofia saw the boy in Alec's arms, she looked puzzled. But when she saw that the boy held a witchlight in his hand, her expression turned into shock. Before Sofia could open her mouth to say anything, Alec said: "Can you please call for a silent brother? He needs immediate treatment." Sofia nodded and went to call for a silent brother.

After Sofia left, Alec took the boy to the infirmary. He laid the boy on one of the beds, but the boy did not let go. Alec stroked the boy's head and pried his little hands of his shirt. The boy looked panicked and his eyes started to fill with tears. But when Alec did not let go of his hand and sat down on the chair next to his bed, the little boy relaxed a bit. That's when Sofia walked into the infirmary. "Alec," she said. "I've called for a silent brother, he will be here soon. Can you please tell me what happened?"

"I will," Alec answered. "But can you please get some food and water for him?" Alec eyed at the boy. "And maybe a pair of clothes?" If Alec's suspicions were correct, the boy has been living on the street for at least 2 years. The only reason why he still fits in his clothes was because he was seriously underfed. "Of course," Sofia said and she rushed out of the infirmary, but not before giving the boy one last look.

Sofia came back with bread, water and a new change of clothes for the boy. She said that she found them in one of the rooms of the previous shadowhunters that wasn't entirely destroyed by Sebastian's army. While the boy gulped down the food, Alec told Sofia what had happened. Sofia was speechless when Alec was done. Then she started to feel guilty because the poor boy was all alone out there when she was supposed to protect him. Alec reassured her that she couldn't have known since she just came here.

Just as the silent brother arrived, the boy threw up because he ate too fast and his stomach wasn't used to the amount of food he ate. But Luckily there was a bucket nearby. When the boy saw the silent brother after Alec cleaned him up, he clutched himself at Alec and was shaking of fear. Alec realised that the boy must have seen demons and downworlders when he lived on the streets, Alec couldn't imagine what he has been through. Suddenly the boy lets go of Alec and clutched his head with both hands. He had pulled his knees up to his chin and was rocking himself back and forth. _It must be the silent brother._ Alec thought. Alec tried to comfort the boy and decided to lift the boy onto his lap. The boy gripped his shirt tightly in his small hands. Alec placed an arm around the boy and tried to calm him down while the boy's tears soaked his shirt. Alec looked at Sofia for help since his Spanish was rubbish. Sofia understood the hint and started talking to the boy. Eventually, the boy stopped shaking and nodded.

"He's ready to be examined," Sofia said. Alec let out a breath of relief and placed the boy back on the bed, he didn't let go of the boy's hand. Alec held the boy's hand the entire time that he was being examined by the silent brother. Afterwards, the silent brother had told them that he didn't have any kind of disease and was only seriously underfed and dehydrated. The silent brother told them that the boy needed to strengthen up and gain weight, he also told them that the boy might suffer from nightmares because of the traumatizing events he's been through. They thanked the silent brother and Sofia walked him to the door.

When the two of them were alone, Alec led the boy to the bathroom and showered the boy. After the shower, he led the boy to the kitchen to find him something to eat. Alec ended up making a puree of fruit -something that he often fed Max- and he slowly fed the boy to make sure he didn't eat too fast and end up throwing up again.

Alec ate an apple while he fed the boy and when the boy was done eating, Alec lifted the boy, walked to the supplies closet, got a toothbrush and some toothpaste for the boy, headed back to the kitchen and placed the boy on the counter so Alec could brush the boy's teeth. The boy looked tired when Alec was done brushing his teeth so Alec decided that the boy could sleep in his room since the boy was so attached to him.

Alec lifted the boy, walked towards his bedroom, placed the boy on his bed and laid next to him. After a few minutes, the boy fell asleep soundly in Alec's arms and Alec's eyes were starting to feel heavy as well. But then an idea formed in his head and he texted Magnus to ask him if he would come the next day around noon. After that, the shadowhunter fell asleep next to the little boy.

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 **I hope you enjoyed it! Please review, and NEXT UP: MAGNUS AND MAX MEETING RAFAEL.**

 **Author out!**


	2. Welcome to our family

**A/N: Hello! Sorry that I haven't updated in so long, but here's the new chapter. I apologize for all the spelling and grammar mistakes.**  
 **Plz review and I hope that you'll enjoy it!**

 ***Disclaimer* I do not own any of these characters:(**

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Alec woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of hyperventilation. He sat up and saw a kid lying next to him. It took him a while before he remembered where he was and the events of the day before. Alec sat up and placed his hands on the boy's shoulder and shook gently to wake the boy, the boy's eyes flew open and gasped. His eyes shot around the room and flinched when he saw Alec. After a while, the boy remembered where he was and his eyes started to tear. Alec pulled the boy to his chest and stroked the boy's back while making soothing sounds to calm the boy. The boy sobbed and hiccupped, but eventually he calmed down and his sobbing turned into sniveling. Alec softly laid the boy down next to him and he softly stroked the boy's back until the both of them fell asleep again.

* * *

When morning came Alec quietly rose from the bed, careful not to wake the boy. He walked into the bathroom, took a quick shower and pulled a clean t-shirt over his head before walking into the room again. When Alec stepped into the room, he saw the boy sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"Buenos días," Alec greeted the boy. Alec might not be fluent in Spanish, but a simple good morning is something he could manage. The boy looked down and nodded, though Alec thought he heard the boy whisper a soft Buenos días. _At least that's some progress._ Alec thought. Alec was just about to suggest that they should go down to get breakfast when he heard the boy's stomach growl. Alec grinned. "¿Quieres desayunar," (want some breakfast?) Alec asked the boy. The boy nodded and climbed out of bed. Alec held out a hand as they walked out of the room, and the boy took it. Together the two of them walked hand in hand towards the kitchen for some breakfast.

* * *

The two of them were greeted by Sofia when they walked into the kitchen. Alec had greeted her while the boy disappeared behind Alec's legs, which made Sofia chuckle. "He's quite attached to you, Alec," Sofia noted. A soft smile appeared on Alec's face. "He is, isn't he?" Alec said. And he looked down at the boy hiding behind his legs. "Sofia, there's something I wanted to ask you ab-" Alec was cut short when the boy's stomach growled again. Sofia grinned. "How about we talk during breakfast?" Sofia suggested. "I made pancakes."

* * *

When the boy had finally chosen what he wanted on his pancake and was being fed by Alec, Sofia and Alec started to talk. "So what did you want to ask me, Alec?" Sofia asked while taking a bite of pancake.

"Well I was wondering if you know anything about the boy's background," Alec said, and he nodded towards the boy. "I assume that the boy used to live here with his family, and I wanted to know if you know anything about them." Alec fed the boy another bite of pancake.

"When the Clave asked me to come here, they gave me a report about the institute," Sofia said and took a sip of her coffee. "I didn't really pay attention the first time that I read it, so I looked into it again yesterday after you brought the boy to bed. I'm sorry to tell you, but in the report, it says that everyone in the family that lived here was either killed or turned when Sebastian came here with his army. The boy's an orphan." Sofia gave the boy a pitied look.

"Was there anything in the report about this boy, his name, birthday, that kind of thing?" Alec asked.

"Unfortunately, no," Sofia said. "The boy was probably born during the dark war, the Clave was probably too busy with Sebastian to keep track with all the newborn shadowhunters. The clave probably doesn't even know that this boy exists."

Alec nodded. What Sofia said was true, a lot of children that were born during the dark war weren't registered till after Sebastian was defeated.

"What do we do with the boy?" Sofia asked. "He could stay here, the Clave's sending some orphans here from Alicante next week, since that the orphanages are still quite full. I have no problems with him staying here, but I don't think that that's what the boy wants, and I don't think you'd want that either, Alec. You're way too attached to the boy."

Alec sighed. "You're right," he said. "I'm too attached to the boy to let him go. I have no problems with adopting him, and I think Max wouldn't mind having a big brother. But I'd have to discuss it with Magnus first."

"Why don't you just call Magnus to ask him to come here, he could make a portal and be here in minutes," Sofia suggested.

Alec gave Sofia a guilty smile. "Actually," Alec said. "I might have texted him yesterday and asked him to come around noon."

Sofia laughed. "Oh Alec," she said. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"

* * *

Alec was writing a report about the vamp attacks in Sofia's office while the boy sat in Sofia's armchair and was watching cartoons on Alec's phone, which Magnus had enchanted so he'd alway have wifi.

Alec caught himself checking the clock for the third time in five minutes, half an hour to go until noon. Alec sighed. _Now concentrate and finish this report before Magnus arrives._ Alec told himself. Even though Alec had texted Magnus to come around noon, he meant 12 o'clock on the dot. Luckily, the two of them have been together long enough for Magnus to know that. Alec took a deep breath and forced himself to finish the report.

Alec finished the report at 11:58. He stood up, stretched and walked to the boy. The boy was too focused on the cartoon that he was watching to notice Alec. He only noticed him when Alec placed a hand on his shoulder. Alec smiled at the boy and said: "Ven." (Come.) The boy handed Alec back his phone and took the hand that Alec offered.

* * *

The two of them arrived just in time at the foyer to see a portal appear. The boy quickly stepped behind Alec's legs, but Alec knew that the boy was looking at the portal through Alec's legs. After a few seconds, a man with spiky black hair wearing a white suit stepped through the portal. "Alexander!" Magnus exclaimed when he saw Alec. Magnus walked towards Alec and pulled him into a long kiss before breaking away. "So Alexander, why did you wanted me to come here?" Magnus asked.

"Well..." Alec turned his head and looked at the boy behinds his legs before turning his head again to face Magnus.

Magnus seemed to notice the boy for the first time and raised an eyebrow. "Alexander, why is there a boy hiding behind your legs?" Magnus asked. He had an amused look on his face.

"Why don't we go sit down first?" Alec suggested.

Magnus nodded. "Lead the way, dear."

Since that Alec has only been in the Buenos Aires institute for 2 days, he got lost and eventually the three of them settled on a couch in the library. Magnus had conjured some coffee for the two of them and some juice for the boy.

"Now that were all set," Magnus said. "Will you please tell me why you called me here and why this boy"– Magnus eyed at the boy – "was hiding behind your legs?"

Alec looked at the boy and a smiled. He looked back at Magnus and he started telling him the events of the previous day.

When Alec was done, Magnus nodded. "So what you're suggesting is…" Magnus said.

"That we'd adopt him," Alec finished. "But only if you're ok with it," Alec added quickly.

Magnus looked at the boy for a moment before a smile appeared on his face. "Of course, Alexander, Let's adopt him."

* * *

 _Magnus' POV_

 _That we'd adopt him._ The words played over and over again in Magnus' head as he looked at the boy. Magnus knew what the boy meant to Alec and what Alec meant to the boy. Of course, he'd agree with Alec to adopt this boy. But somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice was telling him about the consequences; the grief that he would suffer one day, the pain of losing a child. _Adopting_ _a warlock is one thing._ The voice told him. _But a shadowhunter? A mortal that will die of old age one day? You know what happened to Tessa when she lost James and Lucie, do you want to end up like that too? Do you want to lose both your lover and a child?_ " _Shut up_ ". Magnus mentally told the voice. Magnus looked at the boy and told himself to think about the good things; Max having a brother, having another child to share their love with, Magnus smiled at those thoughts. He turned towards Alec. "Of course, Alexander, Let's adopt him."

Magnus walked to the boy and crouched in front of him. Spanish is a language that Magnus had mastered a long time ago, and he was fluent in it.

"Hello, my name is Magnus," Magnus told the boy in Spanish. "What's your name?"

The boy shrugged.

Magnus looked at Alec with a questioning look, and he was about to ask Alec what the boy meant when Alec said: "He has forgotten his name. We've searched for a birth certificate, but he isn't registered since that he was born in the dark war. I was actually waiting for you to name him since that I picked max' name." Alec was looking at his shoes and he had blushed cheeks.

Magnus' mouth fell open, his heart was overflowing with love for the shadowhunter. He was so touched that Alec wanted him to name the kid that he didn't know what to say, instead he stood up and leaned forwards to kiss Alec. Magnus had after all, always been a man of actions "Thank you, Alexander," Magnus whispered and he turned back to the boy.

"Since you don't have a name," Magnus said to the boy. "Would you mind if I gave you a name?"

The boy looked up at Alec as if he was asking for permission. Alec gave the boy a reassuring smile, and the boy turned his attention back to Magnus and shook his head.

"What do you think of the name…," Magnus started. "Ragnor?"

The boy frowned and shook his head.

Magnus laughed. "You're right," he said. "You're too handsome for a name like that." The comment brought a smile on the boy's lips.

"How about…," Magnus was thinking, searching for a name when he suddenly thought of the one name that suited the boy perfectly. "Rafael. Rafael Santiago Lightwood."

The boy grinned and nodded.

"Rafael Santiago Lightwood-Bane¬" Alec reminded him. "You're also a part of this family."

"How could I forget," Magnus said.

The day's after that contained a lot of traveling back and forth between New York and Buenos Aires since that they couldn't just take Rafael with them. The two of them took turns of staying in Buenos Aires to take care of Rafael and staying in their apartment in New York to take care of Max. The couple decided not to tell anyone about Rafael so it would be a surprise for everyone. While Alec was the one who took care of the legal documents for the adoption, Magnus spends his time to use his magic to heal Rafael's dental problems, trying to bond with the boy and he was also teaching the boy English so that he could communicate with his future family. Needless to say, the couple had their hands full.

After a week, it was finally time to take Rafael to their home in New York. Rafael wasn't officially their son yet, but all they need now is the Consuls approval, and since that Jia Penhallow was the Consul, the couple was confident that it wouldn't take long until Rafael was officially their son. It's time that Rafael met his brother.

It was Alec's turn to stay at Buenos Aires so Magnus was at home in New York trying to tidy Rafael's new room. They had made a room for Rafael even though they knew that Rafael would be staying in their room for at least a month until he doesn't suffer from nightmares anymore.

Magnus looked up at the clock and saw that it was almost time to make the portal. He walked to the living room and found max exactly where he left him; In front of the TV watching cartoons.

"Come here, Max," Magnus said. "Your brother is coming."

"Bwother?" Max asked in his adorable toddler voice.

"Yes, Max," Magnus answered. "You're getting a big brother today."

"Twoday?!" Max asked. The boy's expression was filled with excitement.

Magnus nodded. "Today."

Max jumped up from the couch and raced towards Magnus. Magnus smiled and snapped his fingers to turn off the TV, then he walked to the wall and made a portal for Alec and Rafael.

"Ready, Max?" Magnus asked the two-years-old when he stepped back from the portal he made and took Max' hand.

"Reddy," Max answered.

* * *

Alec's POV

Alec looked at his watch, one to twelve. One more minute to go until the portal appears and he and Rafael can go home. The two of them already said their goodbyes to Sofia a few minutes ago, Sofia was busy to prepare everything for the orphans that are arriving today. The orphans were appointed to her by the Clave to be trained by her and Sofia was very excited to meet them.

Alec looked at Rafael as the portal appeared on twelve o'clock on the dot. "Ready?" he asked.

Rafael nodded. "Ready."

Alec took Rafael's hand as they stepped through the portal.

When the two shadowhunters arrived at the apartment in New York, they were greeted by Magnus and a very excited Max.

"Hello Rafe," Magnus greeted. "This is your little brother Max." Magnus pointed at the little blue warlock. Max immediately walked up to Rafael and introduced himself.

"Hello, I'm Max. Awe you my bwother Rafael?"

Rafael nodded. "Why don't you show Rafael his room, Max?" Alec suggested.

Max nodded and pulled Rafael with him. Rafael looked back with an unsure expression while he was being pulled by the little warlock, but after Alec shot him a reassuring smile, he followed his little brother.

Alec and Magnus settled on the couch after the boys went left, and after a while, they could hear the boys laughing. Neither of them said a word as they listened to their children.

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 **Phew! That was by far the longest chapter that I've ever written for one chapter!**

 **NEXT UP: Meeting the family!**

 **Author out!**


	3. SURPRISE!

**A/N: Hello guys! I'm so so so sorry that I haven't updated in so long, and I promise that the wait was worth it! Thank you for following and plzzzzzzz review.**

 **I apologize for all the grammar and spelling mistakes.**

 **Anyway, you've been waiting long enough so ENJOY!**

 ***disclaimer* I do not own any of these characters :(**

* * *

It has been 5 days since that Rafael arrived in New York and he was finally ready to meet the rest of the family. Both Alec and Magnus knew that Rafael would need some time to adjust, and they were happy to see that their soon to be son was making so much progress. Yes, he still sleeps in Alec and Magnus' bed, and Yes, he still wakes up screaming in the middle of the night. But Rafael had gained some weight, his English improved A LOT, he was starting to be more talkative during the day, and his nightmares are getting less worse. That's why Alec felt so proud when Rafael was ready to take the next step and said that he wanted to meet his new family. Alec secretly also felt relieved because Izzy, Simon, Clary and Jace knew that Alec and Magnus were up to something and (especially Jace) were bugging the hell out of him.

So on the 6th day of Rafael's arrival, it was finally time to introduce Rafael to the family. It was 8.30 in the morning and Alec and Magnus were trying to get the boys ready to go, which was quite difficult since that Rafael and Max decided that they didn't want to cooperate.

"Oh, well," Magnus said dramatically and plopped into the armchair. "I guess that we should just stay here and don't go to Taki's for breakfast."

Max jerked his head towards Magnus. "Taki's?"

"Yeah," Magnus said with a fake sigh. "We thought it would be nice to show Rafael around first, before heading towards the institute, right, Alexander?"

Alec nodded. "But if you guys don't want to…."

"WE DO!" Max shouted. He ran over to Rafe and tried to pull him along, but Rafe didn't move.

"What's Taki's?" Rafael asked.

"Ownly the place where they hawe the BEST pancwakes in the WORLD!" Max told his brother. "Now come ooon, Rafe! Hurry." This time, Rafael allowed his little brother to drag him along to their rooms. Alec and Magnus looked each other in the eye and burst out laughing.

Magnus stood up as the laughter died down. "I'd better go check on those two," said Magnus. "I'd rather not have my sons go out looking like total fashion disasters."

Alec smiled as he watched Magnus walking down the corridor. He then pulled out his phone and texted Jace to say that they would be at the institute at ten.

* * *

"whous dis stoooo ghohohd!" Rafael said with his mouth full of pancake. Max giggled

"Swallow before you talk, Rafe," Magnus scolded.

Rafael took a sip of his orange juice and swallowed. "This is so good!" Rafael repeated.

"I twold you so!" Max said.

"You're right, little brother," Rafe said and he ruffled through Max's hair, which made Max puff his chest proudly.

Alec's heart melted at the sight of his two children, and when he looked at Magnus, Alec could see that he was felt the same way.

* * *

The four of them headed towards the park after they had finished their breakfast, where the two Lightwood-Bane boys were playing in the playground while Alec and Magnus were sitting on a bench nearby. Even though Alec had done this a hundred times with Max, he was still feeling a bit anxious. Alec didn't like to walk around in the mundane world without being glamoured, it made him feel vulnerable. Which is absolutely ridiculous since that he's a trained shadowhunter, but the fact that the mundanes were able to see him, made him feel exposed and self-conscious. And the annoying little voice inside his head wasn't really helping either. What if the mundanes see Max? What will they think of a little blue warlock playing with their children? What will they say? What will they do? Some wounds heal, but some memories stay with you forever…. Alec tried to shake those thought out of his head. Magnus, who felt that something's bothering Alec, placed his hand on top of Alec's and rested his head against Alec's shoulder. "They're just playing, Alexander," Magnus said. "You shouldn't worry too much, you'll get wrinkles." Alec smiled and allowed himself to relax a bit.

"Do you remember our first date?" Magnus asked while his eyes were still fixed on their kids.

Alec nodded.

"You were so nervous," Magnus said. "You judo-flipped a Mundie and he actually thought you were a ninja." The two of them chuckled and Alec suddenly felt much more at ease. Magnus must have noticed this because he continued to point out everything that was either funny or embarrassing about their first few dates.

* * *

Around 9.45, Alec decided that it was time to head towards the institute. He and Magnus stood up and called their kids. While the four of them walked towards the institute, Alec held Rafael's hand while Magnus carried Max because Max complained that he was tired. And Magnus, the soft-hearted warlock that he was, couldn't say no to his youngest son.

"You're spoiling him," Alec said.

"No, I'm not," argued Magnus. "I'm simply taking care of my son, Alexander. Besides, you wouldn't want him to whine the entire way to the institute now, do you?"

"You're too soft, Mag," Alec said and sighed in defeat while Magnus and Max smiled at each other. Rafael pulled at Alec's hand.

"Pick me up?" Rafe said with his puppy dog eyes. Alec tried to say no, but he couldn't resist the charms of his son, so he sighed and picked Rafe up.

"Look who's soft now," Magnus teased.

"Shut up," Alec responded.

* * *

Alec put Rafael down as they reached the institute door.

"Are you ready to go inside, Rafe?" Alec asked.

Rafael nodded.

"Okey then," said Alec as he opened the institute door. He held the door open for Magnus since that Magnus couldn't keep the door open with Max in his hands. "Thanks, dear" Magnus said.

* * *

The four of them stepped into the elevator, and Rafael had decided to hide behind Alec's legs when the elevator door opened again. They stepped out of the elevator into an empty foyer, and Alec thought that he heard a relieved sigh from Rafe. Alec looked at his son and placed a hand on ruffled through Rafe's hair, then he turned around and shouted, "JACE! IZZY!" Alec suspected that they were in the training room with their new trainees, so he had shouted extra loud to make sure they'd hear him.

"Two lowd, daddy!" Max complained.

"Sorry, Max," Alec apologized. Then they heard footsteps running towards them and Alec could feel Rafael's grip on his pants tighten. Alec could hear the familiar shouting of Jace before he even saw him.

"ALEC, I SWEAR. YOU BETTER TELL ME WHAT YOU AND MAGNUS HAVE BEEN HIDING FROM US, OR I SWEAR, I WILL-" Jace stopped dead in his track when he saw Rafael standing behind him. Izzy, Simon and Clary bumped right into him and both Clary and Simon fell on their butt. "By the Angle, Jace," Izzy snapped. "Why the hell did you sto-" Izzy's mouth hang wide open when she saw Rafael. Clary and Simon, who just stood up, both noticed Rafael at the same time and the irritated expression on their face was replaced by a shocked one.

"Guys," Alec said trying to hide his excitement. "This is Rafael Santiago Lightwood-Bane, our son."

That seemed to unfreeze the four shocked shadowhunters. Izzy leaped forward and tackled Alec in a hug. Luckily Alec was sort of expecting it, so he had placed his foot steadily or he would have fallen right on top of Rafe. "That was for adopting another absolute cutie," Izzy said. Then she slapped him in the face, hard. "And that was for not telling us."

Even though Alec's jaw hurt, he managed to chuckle. "Okey, Izzy. I love you too."

Izzy then knelt down to face Rafael, who was still hiding behind Alec's legs. "Hello Rafael, I'm Isabelle," Izzy said in a gentle voice. "I'm your aunt. But you can call me aunt Izzy." Rafael simply nodded.

"Oh my gosh, he's so shy and so cute!" Clary practically squeaked. Then knelt down beside Izzy.

"Hello," she said. "My name is Clary, nice to meet you." She held out a hand for Rafe to shake and Rafael hesitated before shaking it softly. Rafe also let go of his grip on Alec's pants. Rafe was still a bit shy, but he was starting to feel more confident.

Max, who was now tired of not being in the centre of attention, started to struggle in Magnus' arms. Magnus put Max down and Max started to draw attention to himself.

Alec was looking at his sons so he didn't realise that Jace had sneaked up on him until Jace had him in a headlock.

"You shitty parabatai," Jace said while ruffling through Alec's hair. "We were supposed to have no secrets for each other!" Jace slapped Alec on his head and Alec somehow managed to get out of the headlock and threw Jace over his shoulders. Alec did make sure that Jace didn't land too hard on his back because he's a caring parabatai like that. Alec then crossed his arms and sat on Jace' chest to prevent him from sitting up.

"You're not going to win this, Herondale," Alec said. "Give up."

Jace struggled and managed to push Alec of him. The two parabatai then continued to wrestle.

"Don't wowwy," Max said to his older brother, who was quite shocked at the sight of his father wrestling with a stranger. "They dwo that, a lowt."

Izzy and Clary giggled. "Guys, break it up," Clary said trying to sound serious. She failed. "You are such bad influences." Clary laughed and shook her head.

"So…" Simon said when Alec and Jace finally stopped wrestling. "Where does Rafael come from?"

"That's actually quite a long story," Alec said. "Why don't we head towards the kitchen? I can use a cup of coffee."

"Great idea," Clary said. And they all headed towards the kitchen.

* * *

"Why don't you go show Rafe around," Magnus said to Max as they arrived at the kitchen. "It'll be boring for the two of you to stay here."

Max nodded eagerly and dragged Rafe along with him.

"Beatriz and Julie are in the training room with some other kids if you're interested in meeting them," Simon Called after them.

"Okwey!" Max shouted as they left the kitchen.

* * *

After the boys left, Clary made coffee and Magnus conjured some biscuits. When they were all set, Alec started to tell them about his meeting with Rafael.

"By the Angel," gasped Izzy when Alec was done telling his story. "So Rafael has really been living on the streets for two years? That poor boy!"

"But that doesn't explain why you didn't tell us," said Clary. "Why did you guys keep this secret?"

"Well, because…" Alec started. Alec couldn't find the words to explain. He was thankful when Magnus took over.

"Because, Biscuit, Rafael is a shadowhunter." Magnus told Clary. "You all know how desperate the Clave is for newly trained shadowhunters after the war. We didn't know whether they would approve us to raise Rafael, you know, with the fact that I'm a downworlder and all."

Alec nodded gravely. "We didn't want you to get your hopes up if the Clave denied us to adopt Rafe."

"That's stupid," Simon argued. "They let you adopt Max."

"Yeah," Magnus said. "But Max is no shadowhunter."

There was a silence between them, and Alec knew that they were all thinking the same thing. Shadowhunters are racists. Even though a lot has changed in the past few years, you still can't change everyone. And in times like this, when the Clave is desperate for new recruits, you never know what they'll do. Alec was grateful that his family was different, it made is life a whole lot easier. But unfortunately, not every shadowhunter is as open minded as the shadowhunters of the New York institute.

"So is Rafael officially your son?" Clary asked softly.

Magnus shook his head. "Not yet, we still need the Consul's approval. But were positive that Jia Penhallow will agree."

Clary nodded. "I'm sure she'll agree." Reassured Clary.

"I do hope so, Biscuit," Magnus answered. Suddenly Alec heard footsteps rushing towards the kitchen. A few seconds later, Robert Lightwood burst into the kitchen with Maryse right behind him. Alec jumped to his feet.

"Dad? Mom?" Asked Alec. "What are you doing here?"

"Well," Robert said. "I was just congratulated by the Consul on a new grandson, who I didn't even know existed. So I called your mother to ask whether she knew something, and she didn't so we thought we'd-"

"Oof!" Alec heard. It was followed by a thud. Both Alec and Robert looked down and saw Rafael on the ground. Apparently he ran into Robert while running. Max ran into the kitchen a few seconds later.

"Nowt fair, Rafe! You're-" Max didn't finish his sentence. "Grandma! Grandpa!" Max exclaimed.

"Hello, buddy!" Robert said, and he picked Max up. "How are you doing?"

"Gwood!" Max said, then he looked around. "Where's Rafe?"

Rafael had taken his place behind Alec's legs again. Alec gently pushed Rafe in front of him and place his hands on Rafe's shoulders.

"Mom, dad," Alec said. "This is Rafael, our new son." Then he turned towards Rafael. "Rafe," said Alec. "They are your grandparents. Why don't you go say hi?"

Rafael looked down and shifted his feet, the shyness had taken over again. But after a minute, he took a few steps forward. "Hello, Rafael," Maryse greeted gently. She had knelt down in front of Rafe. "I'm your new grandmother, it's nice to meet you."

" -meet you," Rafe muttered.

"Come here," Maryse said, and she pulled in into a hug. Rafael stiffened but after a few beats, he relaxed and hugged her back. After a moment Maryse Released Rafe.

Robert put Max down so Maryse could give him a hug and turned towards Rafe. Robert picked the boy up to Rafael's surprise and held him up. "Let me see," Robert said. "A handsome young… Shadowhunter?" Robert turned to face Alec. Alec nodded. "A shadowhunter! You'll grow big and strong and will no doubt grow to become a skilled young man." Rafael giggled at the compliments.

"I will too!" Max pouted, annoyed that he wasn't at the center of attention.

"Of Course you will!" Robert said, and he placed Rafe next to Max. "The two of you will make everyone proud." The boys beamed at the compliments.

"Move aside, Robert," Jace said as he shoved Robert aside. "I want to meet my nephew." Then he picked Rafael up and held Rafe in front of him.

"Rafael," Jace said seriously. "One day I'm going to train you and teach you to be the best shadowhunter in the world. Well, second best. I can't have you out best me, now can I?" Rafael giggled. "And if you'd just remember that I'm your best uncle, then we could all have tons of fun. Just ask your brother." Jace turned to face Max. "Max?" Jace asked. "Who's the best uncle in the whole wide world?"

"You awe!" Max exclaimed happily.

Alec could hear Magnus sigh behind him. "What have you done to my poor son, Jace?" Everyone chuckled except for Jace, who ignored him and turned to face Rafael once again.

"So," Jace said. "If you'd just remembered that, then we could do lots of fun things together. Like playing piano, or go to the park."

Rafael's face lighted up at the mention of the park.

"Yes! We could go to the park and go feed the duckies!" Rafe exclaimed.

Jace froze at the mention of ducks. The face that he made was priceless, it was a combination between shock and horror. Quickly Alec pulled out his phone and took a picture of Jace' face, Alec was going to use this picture against Jace for sure. Alec tried to keep his laughter in, but when his met Clary's, he burst out laughing and everyone joined him. Except for Jace and Rafael. Rafael was frowning and didn't understand why everyone was laughing.

When the laughter finally died down, Jace said, "Remember Rafael. Never ever trust a duck. Ducks are evil bloodthirsty beasts!"

Rafael, who seemed to understand that Jace had a phobia for ducks, suddenly had a mischievous glint in his eyes. It was then that Alec knew that Rafael was going to be a hand full.

* * *

 **That was quite a read! I hope you liked it and Plzzzz review. There's one more chapter to go!**

 **Next up: A glimpse of the future!**

 **Author out ;)**


	4. Stronger together

**A/N: Hello guys. I'm soooooooooo sooooooooo sooooooooo sorry for not updating in like, what 4 weeks? I was very busy with school and that kind of crap so, yeah, I'm sorry. I do hope that you like this super duper long chapter that I've written. Plz review and once again, I'm freaking sorry.**

 **I apologize for all the spelling/grammar mistakes.**

 **ENJOY!**

 ***Disclaimer* I do not own any of these characters :(**

* * *

 **Magnus' POV**

It was one of those nights when Alec had tons of work so Magnus decided that they could stay for dinner at the institute. The whole family sat at the kitchen table eating the take-out, except for Jace. Jace went to his room to change after training. It was very peaceful and quiet while everyone was eating their dinner until they heard a high-pitched shriek coming from Jace' bedroom.

The four shadowhunters quickly stood up and reached for their weapons. They rushed out of the kitchen towards Jace' room, ready for battle. They were out of the room so fast, that they didn't see the smug smiles on both Rafael and Magnus' faces.

Magnus picked Max up and walked towards Jace' room with Rafael at his heels. Magnus and Rafael quickened their paces when they heard the laughter.

* * *

 **Alec's POV**

Alec sprinted towards Jace' room with Clary Izzy and Simon at his heels. His heart was racing and he feared for what could have happened. "JACE!" Alec cried out when he saw his parabatai on the floor, staring in his room with horror filled eyes. Alec knelt down next to Jace and checked for injuries, he was relieved when he didn't see any. "What happened?" Alec asked.

Jace simply lifted his arm and pointed at his room. Alec turned his head to see the room and his worries turned into shock. Jace' once clean and tidy room is now filled with ducks, not real ducks, but rubber ducks and plushies.

His bed, floor and desk were filled with bright yellow rubber ducks and plushies. His walls were covered in duck posters and duck feathers. It was quite a sight to take in.

After a moment of silence, Simon burst out laughing. He was quickly followed by the rest. Only Jace wasn't laughing.

"How can you guys laugh at this horror?!" Jace asked in disbelief. "M-my room is now tainted by these evil creatures!"

Alec's eyes watered from laughing, he was laughing so hard that his stomach hurt. Izzy and Clary were lying on the ground laughing and Simon was clutching his stomach with one hand and had one hand placed on the wall for support. Every time the laughter died down, one of them would look at the room or Jace and they would start all over again.

"You!" Jace cried out. "You did this!" Alec turned and saw Magnus standing a few feet away from him with Max and Rafael.

"What did I do?" Magnus Asked. If Magnus knew something, he certainly didn't show it.

"Don't deny it," Jace said. "I know that it was you. No one else could have done it."

Magnus set Max down and Max followed Rafe into the room. The two children were having the time of their lives, playing with all those cute plushies.

"It wasn't my idea," Magnus said simply. "I simply provided the stuff."

"WHO BETRAYED ME?" Jace Yelled.

"It was my idea!" Rafe said cheerfully. "Do you not like it?" Rafe pulled a sympathetic face that Alec knew he faked. But Jace didn't know that.

"I-I…." Jace was, for once, at a loss of words. Which made everything even funnier.

After a while Alec decided to help Jace out. "Rafe," Alec said. "This was very funny, but you know that uncle Jace doesn't like ducks."

"I did not know that Daddy," Rafe answered. Again, he made a sympathetic face. "I thought he'd like it."

"You know that it doesn't work on me, Rafe," Alec said. "I know you too well."

Rafael's sympathetic expression turned into a mischievous smirk. "I had to try," he said with a shrug. He sat down on Alec's lap and played with a duck plushy.

"Wait," Jace said confused. "You did this on purpose? How could you do this to your poor uncle Jace?"

"Shut up Jace," Izzy said. "You're such a drama queen."

Jace eventually forgave Rafael. How could he not, after all, it was April Fools' Day.

...TIME SKIP...

 **Rafael's POV**

"Come on Max, you can do this," Jace said. "It not that hard."

"It is!" Max yelled from above. "I've already tried like a million times. I'll never be able to do this."

"Maybe we should take a break," Rafael suggested.

"Good idea," Jace said. "Go take an hour off to strengthen up." He left the training room and left the boys alone.

"C'mon on _hermano_ ," Rafe said. "Just try one more time."

"No," Max said. "I can't. I'll just fall again. It doesn't matter anyway. I'll totally fail the test tomorrow no matter what."

"Don't say that," Rafe said. "You can pass the test. You are at the end of the course, just try it. It's easy."

"It's easy for you!" Max yelled. "You're a shadowhunter. This course is made for shadowhunters, Rafe. And guess what. I'M NOT A SHADOWHUNTER. I don't have your abilities."

"You can always use magic tomorrow,"Rafe suggested.

"No, I can't. Uncle Jace will know if I do and I will not only fail but also humiliate myself in front of everyone because I can't do it without magic."

"There has to be another way,"Rafe said.

"I'm just going to fake I'm sick tomorrow," Max said. "Let me know if you have another solution."

 _'Hmm…'_ Rafe thought. _'Another way…shadowhunters…magic…abilities….!_ ' "Wait here!" Rafe yelled. "I have an idea. Don't go anywhere."

He rushed out of the training room and made his way to the library. When he found the book that he was looking for, he ran back to the training room while keeping an eye out for others. No one can know what he was planning. Otherwise, his plan won't work.

"I'm back!" Rafe said when he entered the training room.

"That took you long enough," Max said. He was sitting on a pummel horse at the back of the training room.

"Come here," Rafe said. "And stop complaining."

Max sighed but made his way towards Rafe.

"I can't see how a book of runes can help me," Max said when he saw the book Rafe was holding.

"Let me explain first," Rafe said. "This is not just any rune book. This is aunt Clary's rune book."

"Still not seeing how this would help me," Max muttered.

"Shut up, _hermano_ ," Rafe said. "I found this book while I was studying in the library last week. It has more runes in it than a normal rune book."

"I don't care if it has more runes in it than a normal book," Max cried. "I'm a warlock. I can't bear runes, remember."

"No, but you can bear this one," Rafe said. He opened the book and flipped through the pages until he found the rune. "This is the Alliance rune," he explained. "Aunt Clary made this rune during the Dark War. With this rune, shadowhunters and downworlders can use each other's abilities for a couple of hours."

"Why isn't this in the other rune books?" Max asked. "There has to be a reason why this rune isn't in the other books."

"I think that it's because the clave doesn't want shadowhunters and downworlders running around with different powers."

"Won't we get into trouble with the clave?" Max asked.

"There's no law against it," Rafe responded nonchalantly. "Well, not that I know of."

"How do you know it'll work?" Max asked softly. "What if I can't bear the rune?"

"Daddy and Pappa used it," Rafe said. "Uncle Luke too and Uncle Simon when he was a vampire. Max, you're 10, you are capable of bearing runes."

"That's so with shadowhunters, not with warlocks," Max argued.

"Papa is downstairs," Rafe said. "He'll know what to do if it doesn't work."

"Hmm…okey then," Max said. "But you go first."

Rafe nods. "We'll have to draw it where no one will see it." The two boys thought about it for a while and decided to draw it just below their hips so that their underwear would cover it.

"Ready?" Rafael asked when it was Max' turn.

"Ready," Max said weakly.

Rafael drew the rune and the two of them squeezed their eyes shut, waiting for something to go wrong. But nothing happened.

"Did it work?" Max asked softly.

"I think so, _hermano_ " Rafe answered. "Let's try it out." Rafael dug into his pockets and pulled his witchlight out. "Catch." He threw the witchlight at Max, who grabbed it out of the air. The witchlight shone bright white at Max' touch.

The two boys stared at it in excitement. "IT WORKED!" They cried out. "IT WORKED! IT WORKED! IT WORKED!"

"Go try the course out," Rafe said.

Max nodded in excitement and ran towards the course. Max managed to complete the course in record time.

"By the Angle, Rafe!" Max said. "I did it! I can't believe I did it!"

"You did very well, _hermano_ ," Rafe said. He yawned. "Just remember to do it slowly tomorrow. No one may know. It's our secret."

Max nodded. "Of course Rafe."

Rafael yawned again. "Are you tired Rafe?" Max asked.

"It seems that when you use my ability, you're using my strength, _hermano_." Rafael answered.

"Oh, that's a problem," Max said. "I can't use your strength tomorrow. If I do, you won't pass the test."

"Don't worry Max," Rafael said. "If I go first and you last, then I'll have enough strength for the both of us." He ruffled Max' hair. "Don't underestimate your big brother."

Max nodded. Suddenly Max started to jump up and down.

"Max, calm down," Rafe said. "What do you want to say?"

"I just realized," Max said.

"What?"

"That you can do magic now!"

"…"

Rafael had completely forgotten that he could use Max' abilities now. Excitement swelled inside him. ' _Magic!'_ Rafael thought. _'I can learn MAGIC!_ ' To be honest, Rafael has always been quite jealous of Max. His little brother could do both magic and train like a shadowhunter. Even though Rafael liked being a shadowhunter, he always wanted to be able to do magic like his papa and Max.

"Rafe?" Max' voice brought him back to reality.

"Yes, Max?"

"Aren't you excited?"

"Max I'm super excited!"

That brought a smile on the young warlocks face.

"Imagine what we'll be able to do!" Max said.

"Able to do what?" A voice said behind them.

The two brothers turned around and saw Jace.

"Eh..." Rafe said. "I eh… Was giving Max a pep-talk!"

"Yes, he was," Max said nodding.

"I was telling him about eh… What we will be able to do if he completes the shadowhunter training," Rafael said. "He would have magic and awesome shadowhunter skills."

"Hmmm," Jace said as if he was thinking whether he would accept this excuse or not.

"Just like yours!" Rafe added quickly. "He'll be as good as you, uncle Jace."

Talking about Jace distracted him. "Well," Jace said. "He will be a great warrior, I'm sure. But as good as me, I doubt that."

"You're right," Rafael said. "As good as you would be ridiculous."

Jace nodded.

"Max will be even better!" Rafe exclaimed.

"Yes, t- Wait! No that's not what I-" He was cut off by Rafael.

"Go Max! To be better than Uncle Jace, you must pass this test!" Rafe said.

Max nodded and ran towards the training course. He took it slowly this time, but he did it perfectly, just as how Rafe would have done it. When Max finished, Rafael fell onto his knees. He was _very_ tired.

"Rafe!"Jace said. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, yeah," Rafe said. "I-I'm just so surprised that Max did it." He forced himself to stand up.

"So am I!" Jace said. "What did you tell him?"

"Oh," Rafe said. "Just that he needed to believe in himself to be able to achieve great things."

Jace nodded slowly.

"Now if you'll excuse me," Rafe said. "I'm going to have a shower before dinner."

Rafe left the training room and walked towards his bedroom at the institute. He managed to take a quick shower before he collapsed on the bed.

* * *

 _Over the years, the boys managed to keep their secret and train._

 _After every training, they would go to the library, where Max would teach Rafael the spells that Magnus had taught him. In return, Rafael would teach Max how to use his Seraph blade._

 _Whenever the two of them got to train alone in the training room, Max would train with Muriel, his seraph blade. Sometimes Rafael would use his magic to throw objects at Max and Max would deflect them with his blade. Whenever they hear someone approach, they would quickly switch places._

 _The brothers worked hard to make it work, they trained hard and set up rules._

 _Rafael would work hard on his stamina so he wouldn't tire out so easily and Max would practice magic more often so the both of them could do magic without tiring him out._

 _Rafael would not use magic in the presence of Magnus or other warlocks in order to keep it a secret. He would also bring an extra seraph blade (Muriel) and witchlight when the two of them go on patrol._

 _Even though they went on patrols, they weren't allowed to do anything to endanger themselves. So every time they noticed something off, they had to call Alec instead of dealing with the problems themselves._

* * *

"Come on dad," Rafe pleaded. "We really want to go with you and uncle Jace."

"No, Rafe,"Alec answered sternly. "It's too dangerous."

"But Dad I'm 15!" Rafe answered. "You're being a hypocrite. Aunt Izzy told us that she was 12 when she killed her first demon, you were probably around the same age."

"Please daddy," Max pleaded. He used his powerful puppy dog eyes against their father.

"I think that they should go," Jace said. "It's probably just a pathetic little demon. Nothing to worry about."

"Hmm…" Alec wasn't convinced jet.

"I'll go with you," Isabelle suggested. "If it's just one demon like Jace says, then I'll be able to see my nephews in action. And if there's a problem, then I'll be there to fight."

"I can always portal the two of us out of there is there's a problem," Max added quickly.

That seemed to convince Alec. "Oké then… But if something happens then I'll hold you responsible" He said to Jace.

"Yes!" Rafe and Max said in unison. "Thanks, dad," Rafe said. "We'll go get ready."

After a few minutes, the two brothers were ready for action. They were waiting on the. Alec had told Max to make a portal for them, but since that Rafe just learned how to make one and no one else was around, he made one.

"Perfect," Max told him.

"Rafe?" The two boys jumped at the sound of their father's voice.

"Papa?" Rafe said when he saw Magnus on the top of the stairs. "We didn't hear you. How long have you been standing there?" Rafael hoped with whole his heart that his father didn't saw him make that portal.

"Long enough to see you make that portal," Magnus answered.

Rafael's heart dropped to his feet. "Wh-what are you talking about papa?" he stammered. "That's impossible, I don't have magic. Max made that portal, didn't you Max?"

"Y-yes, of course I made it. D-don't be silly papa, how would Rafe be able to make a portal? That's crazy!"

"You must have drunk too much wine papa," Rafe said as he pointed at his father's wineglass.

"Yeah," Max agreed.

Luckily for them, Alec, Jace and Isabelle appeared.

"Dad! Uncle Jace! Aunt Izzy!" Rafael called out. "Come on! No time to waste."

The two brothers basically dragged the three elder shadowhunters through the portal. Rafe and Max managed to say a haste "Bye Papa." Before disappearing into the portal. Leaving a very suspicious Magnus behind.

* * *

The group of shadowhunters and warlock stood in front of an old factory. The sun has already gone under, so the only light came from a lamppost. They entered the dark building and they were swallowed by the darkness. Each of them took out their witchlight. Rafael almost made the mistake of handing Max his witchlight before remembering that there were others with them.

"Be careful," Alec whispered. "Be ready for an attack at any time."

They made their way through the factory, checking for demons behind every door. They had checked behind every single door, but there weren't any demons. The group was about to leave when Max spoke up. "Wait!" All heads turned to him.

"Look over there!" Max pointed at a pair of swing doors. Boxes piled up in front of the door, that's probably why they missed it.

"That must be the canteen," Rafe said. "I wondered where it was."

"Let's check it out," Jace said.

They headed towards the door and shoved the boxes out of the way.

"I'll open it on three," Jace said.

"One." Rafe's heart was racing

"Two." Max held his breath.

"Three!" Jace and Alec pushed the doors open. They froze at what they saw.

The canteen was filled with Iblis demons, there was at least two dozen of them. The demons were shaped like humans, but they were made out of rolling black smoke. Their burning yellow eyes stared at them, they were on the edge of attacking.

"Get out of here," Alec said through his teeth.

"Hell no," Rafe answered. "You'll die if we leave you behind."

"We can handle this," Jace said.

"There're like two dozen of them," Max said. "I doubt that you can."

Alec opened his mouth to argue, but before he could say a word, the Iblis demons attacked.

* * *

Rafael's fear has been replaced by adrenaline. He fought like he never fought before. He used his witchlight to temporally blind the demon, then he used his seraph blade to finish the demon off.

Max on the other hand, simply shot blue fireballs at the demons. It wasn't as effective as the seraph blades, but it worked.

They were all so busy fighting, that they didn't notice that the demons separated Rafael and Max from the others until it was too late.

Rafael had just killed an Iblis demon when he heard Max scream. A demon had him pinned down, while another loomed over him.

"MAX!" Alec cried out. He tried to make his way to his son, but he was too far away and surrounded by demons.

Jace and Isabelle tried to do the same, but they too, were surrounded.

Alec tried to shoot an arrow, but he couldn't get a clean shot. There was a huge chance that he would hit Max instead.

Rafael was the only one who was close enough to save his brother. He sprinted towards Max, but he stumbled and fell. The Iblis demon had Max' hands pinned down so he wasn't able to shoot fireballs anymore.

Rafael needed to something or his brother would die. Eventually, it all died down to one choice: His brother or their secret. Rafael didn't need to think to know the answered. He shot a fireball at the demon on top of Max and one at the demon that was pinning Max' hands down.

From the corners of his eyes, Rafael could see that his father, uncle and aunt have stopped fighting. He could also see that a demon was creeping up on his father, so he shot a fireball at the demon. "You're freaking welcome," Rafe yelled. That seemed to bring them back. They started fighting again. Rafael then turned towards his brother and threw his seraph blade at him, which he caught with ease.

"Muriel!" Max called out. The seraph blade lit up at the sound of its name. Once again, the battle at the side of their father stopped. So Rafael had to shoot another fireball, this time at a demon in front of his uncle.

"By the Angel!" Rafael called out. "Quit staring or you'll get yourselves killed!"

Rafael made, or rather, killed his was towards his brother.

"You oké, hermano?" Rafe asked when he reached Max. Max nodded. "Care to try out our new technique?" Rafe asked.

"You bet," Max answered.

The two boys now stood back to back. Both with a seraph blade in one hand and a fireball in the other. In no time they managed to kill all the demons that came upon them. They even managed to help the others out.

* * *

When the fight was finally over, Alec rushed over to Max and hugged him. "I was so scared that I'd lose you," He said to the blue skinned boy.

"Don't worry dad," Max answered. "Rafe saved me."

"Yes he did," Jace said. "With freaking magic! How did you guys pull that one off?"

"Well," Rafe said. "You know that rune that aunt Clary created during the Dark War?"

"Which one?" Jace asked.

"The Alliance rune, you idiot," Isabelle said. "You know, the one that allows shadowhunters and downworlders to share abilities for a couple of hours?"

"Ooh, that one," Jace said. "I knew that."

"How long have you guys been doing this?" Alec asked. "The two of you seemed to know what you did."

"About three years," Rafael answered in a small voice.

"I'm sorry but did you just say THREE years?!" Jace exclaimed.

Max and Rafael nodded softly.

"Wait, Rafe," Alec said. "Did you mark your warlock brother at the age of TEN?"

Again Rafael nodded softly. "We were alone in the training room and papa was at the institute too, so we figured that if something happened, he would know what to do."

"That was very irresponsible of you Rafael," Alec said sternly. "It could have gone horribly wrong!"

"Well, it didn't!" Rafael cried out. "And we freaking saved your lives with it tonight!"

"He's right," Izzy said. "We own them one."

Max and Rafael nodded in agreement.

"One thing, though," Isabelle said. "Why did you kept this secret?"

"Well, eh…" Rafe didn't know what to say. Luckily Max answered for him.

"We, erm, kinda used it so I could pass my tests," Max said with his head hanging. "I could never finish those training courses on my own."

"You did it for what?!" Jace asked.

"I can totally do it now!" Max added quickly.

"Yeah no doubt," Jace said. "But that's not where those courses were for."

"Cut the boy some slack," Isabelle said. "Those two saved your sorry ass."

"Let's head back to the institute," Alec said.

"Great idea, dad," Rafe said.

* * *

After a while, the group was back at the institute again. They were greeted by Magnus, Clary and Simon.

"Hey, guy- Why do you guys look so shit?" Simon noted. "I thought that it was just one demon."

"Well, Simon," Jace said. "Sometimes fate is an absolute bitch and sent you two dozen Iblis demons instead of the one pathetic demon you asked for."

"Wait," Magus said. "Two DOZEN?!" He scanned the boys for injuries. "Weren't you supposed to send them home if there was any danger?!"

"We tried but they didn't listen," Alec argued.

"Alexander, dear," Magnus said. "You should have tried harder."

"Calm down, Magnus," Clary said as she put a hand on Magnus' shoulder. "They're all right."

"They could have been not _all right_ , biscuit," Magnus said.

"Relax, Magnus," Isabelle said. "Those two saved our hides."

"They did?" Simon asked. Simon, Clary and Magnus looked confused.

"These little bastards," Jace said while patting Rafe and Max' heads. "Have been keeping a quite interesting secret."

"Really?" Magnus said as he lifted an eyebrow. "Pray tell, what's the secret?"

Rafe knew that his lie earlier on didn't fool his father. He sighed and said in defeat, "We have been using aunt Clary's Alliance rune for a while now."

Clary and Simon's expression turned to a mix between surprised and impressed, while a large smile grew on Magnus's face.

"I knew it!" He called out.

"Wait," Alec said confused. "You knew?"

"Well, not exactly," Magnus said. "But I saw Rafael make the portal earlier."

"You did?" Alec asked Rafael. He looked impressed and proud at the same time.

Rafael nodded.

"Why don't we head towards the kitchen," Clary suggested. "There you guys can tell us all about your heroic actions."

"I don't know," Rafe said. "I think that I'm going to take a shower and go to bed." Het turned towards Max. "What about you, hermano."

"I think that I'll do the same," Max answered with a yawn.

"I think that we'll just stay at the institute tonight," Magnus said. "Goodnight." He kissed both the boys on their forehead. "We'll talk tomorrow."

The two boys nodded sleepily and bid the others goodbye.

 _And that was how the longest kept secret of the Lightwood-Bane family was revealed._

 ** _The END_**

* * *

 **That was it! I hope you've enjoyed it.**

 **Plz review and again, I'm sorry.**

 **Author out!**


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